kitchen ourselves. I worked with Ana White to come up with cabinet plans, and got to work. The cabinets are a combination of (4) 21" bases - one with double drawers for upright silverware storage and one with a flip up drawer front to hide paper towels along with pull-out trash cans, and two standard drawer/door cabinets with a shelf, (2) 24" bases with open shelving, (2) 30" bases flanking the range, and (2) 27" uppers above the range. All the cabinets were built with 3/4" birch Purebond hardwood plywood and are incredibly sturdy. Plans for all cabinets are on Ana-White.com

I used the 24" and two 21" cabinets to make a custom island. I simply pre-built my cabinets, then screwed them together and nailed on some beadboard and trim to the back and sides. For my island top, we made a template of plywood over a 2x4 frame and took it to a local metal smith to fit a stainless steel sleeve over it. I used standard turned legs from Lowes to create a counter-height seating area for the island to fit some stools.

The range is a 1950's gas Magic Chef sourced on Craigslist, which is also how I found my $50 cast iron vintage farmhouse sink that I had re-coated. Pendants and countertops are IKEA. Here's my budget breakdown:

Vintage Gas Range – 450 (1950′s Magic Chef found on Craigslist in perfect working condition)Refrigerator – 965 (We already owned this refrigerator, purchased from the as-is section at LowesDishwasher – 505 (I scored it on mega-sale at Best Buy as a open item)Vintage Cast Iron Sink – 275 (We found the sink for $50 on Craigslist and paid $225 to have it resurfaced)Stained Concrete Flooring – 460 (this is an estimate based on the square footage of our kitchen, the whole house has stained floorsIsland Misc Supplies – 50 (beadboard, trim and 3 legs)Cabinets – 825 (this includes Purebond Plywood, trim, door lumber, hinges, door slides and paint, built from scratch)Island Top – 565 (20 gauge stainless steel fabricated from a local welder, Galisco Welding)Countertops – 300 (IKEA Numerar butcher block countertops)Shelving – 150 (7 sets of Cable Shelf Brackets from the Container Store, free reclaimed oak from my dad's barn stash)Hardware – 20 (two packs of 10 knobs for $10 each from Target)Faucet – 100 (Overstock.com Wall Mount Kitchen Faucet)Pendants – 60 (IKEA Ottava pendants)Pendant converters – 50 (two kits to convert can lights to pendant lights)Island electrical – 15 (supplies to build in plugs in the island)Venthood – 120Veggie cabinet – 45 Dishwasher trim – 15 (Kickplate and trim around dishwasher)Venthood cover – 30 (one quarter sheet of 1/2″ plywood and 1×2 trim)Total – 5000

chemical-free by nixing the plywood backer board (though you can opt for PureBond if you want to keep it) and using diluted RIT liquid dye to tint the wood! The color is so beautiful. For a protective topcoat I used non-toxic Mod Podge. All of the details and lumber brought my cost to $97, which is what you'd pay for the cheap plastic stuff in stores that doesn't last nearly as long. More details on construction and decorations can be found on my blog.

eggplant color. It was absolute perfection. I adored my purple couches, and if you take a look at the RIT website, the options really are endless! They have a gorgeous honeysuckle rose, the perfect shade of aqua, and so much more. When it was time to move out of my apartment and into a home with my husband, I gifted both couches to a friend of mine. Her decor didn't include purple, however, so she bought two natural slipcovers and did a little dyeing of her own. As far as the dye, for the purple I used 5 boxes each. When I helped my friend dye them red, we just used one bottle per slipcover. It also calls for a good bit of salt, but one big container will be fine. I honestly don't know how much water you'd need if you're using a bathtub/container method. Hope that helps!